Current Final

Category: FOREIGN

  • Video: Ocean on fire

    Video: Ocean on fire

    A fire on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico erupted after a gas leak from an underwater pipeline sparked ablaze, according to Mexico’s state-owned Pemex petrol company.

    Footage of the fire – appearing to boil the ocean’s surface with bright orange flames – went viral on July 2 before the fire was extinguished roughly 150 yards from a drilling platform in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, the company reported.

    The company said that “no injuries or evacuations are reported”.

    In a statement, Greenpeace Mexico’s Gustavo Ampugnani said: “These are the risks we face on a daily basis and which call for a change in the energy model, as we have demanded.”

  • Prince Charles gave Prince Harry and Meghan a ‘substantial sum’ of money after they bid adieu to royal life

    Prince Charles gave Prince Harry and Meghan a ‘substantial sum’ of money after they bid adieu to royal life

    During his interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, Prince Harry commented that his family had “literally cut him off financially” in the first quarter of 2020 which attracted significant attention. However, now, officials working for Prince Charles have revealed to journalists on the financial arrangements surrounding the Sussex’s’ departure from royal life, saying that the Prince of Wales supported them with a “substantial sum” immediately after they stepped back.

    According to reports, the latest information came to light as the royal household published its annual accounts for the financial year ending in March 2020. In addition to the Sovereign Grant report, which is published by Buckingham Palace and covers the expenditure of public money, Prince Charles’s household also publishes an annual review which shows how he has spent his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.

    On expenditure in the last financial year relating to Harry and Meghan, a senior Clarence House spokesman said that Prince Charles allocated a “substantial sum to support them” with the transition towards becoming financially independent. The spokesman said this funding stopped in the summer of last year. A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan later clarified that Harry’s comments about being cut off in the first quarter of 2020 were referring to the first quarter of the financial year which began in April 2020. The couple officially left royal life at the end of March 2020.

  • Israeli airstrikes target Gaza again since ceasefire

    Israeli airstrikes target Gaza again since ceasefire

    Israeli aircraft struck Gaza on Wednesday in the first such attacks since the end of 11 days of cross-border fighting last month.

    The overnight air strikes gave way to calm by morning, and there were no reports of casualties on either side, reports Aljazeera.

    On Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists, some chanting “Death to Arabs”, paraded in East Jerusalem in a show of force that threatened to spark renewed violence, reported Dawn.

    The raids early on Wednesday come less than a month after Israel’s 11-day bombardment of Gaza in May.

    https://twitter.com/wwallxc/status/1404928255568846849

    The Israeli raids come two days after a new coalition government, headed by right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennet, took power on Sunday, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year run as prime minister.

  • #BoycottZara: Head designer’s alleged Islamophobic remarks create viral trend

    Hashtag ‘Boycott Zara’ is trending on Twitter after Palestinian model Qaher Harhash exposed anti-Palestinian and ‘Islamophobic’ conversation with Vanessa Perilman, Head Designer at Zara. Vanessa allegedly sent controversial messages to Qaher in response to pro-Palestine posts by the model from occupied east Jerusalem.

    The alleged message sent by Vanessa to Qaher said: “Israelis don’t teach children to hate, nor throw stones at soldiers as your people do. The people in my industry know the truth about Israel and Palestine and I will never stop defending Israel. People like you just come and go in the end.”

    “Maybe if your people were educated then they wouldn’t blow up hospitals and schools that Israel helped to pay for in Gaza.”

    “I think it’s funny that you’re a model because in reality, that is against what the Muslim faith believes in and if you were to come out of the closet in any Muslim country, you would be stoned to death,” she added.

    https://twitter.com/nooranhamdan/status/1403380108023545856

    In the most recent wave of violence, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza killed at least 243 Palestinians, including 66 children, in 11 days and brought widespread devastation to the already impoverished territory. On the Israeli side, 12 people, including two children, were killed.

  • Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck confirm patch-up speculation by kissing publicly

    Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck confirm patch-up speculation by kissing publicly

    Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have given their fans and the media the much awaited confirmation of their romantic patch-up.

    Rumour mills were buzzing that the couple reunited in May after they were spotted holidaying together in Montana.

    Now, in a video shared by Page Six, the couple can been seen nuzzling each other’s necks and sharing kisses in public during their romantic getaway in Malibu.

    In the early 2000s, Lopez and Affleck were one of Hollywood’s most famous couples. They regularly made headlines after a high-profile engagement in 2002 and also collaborated on feature films such as Jersey Girl and Gigli.

    Their relationship came to an end in January 2004, shortly after they postponed their wedding.

    Affleck went on to marry Jennifer Garner which ended up in divorce, while Lopez recently announced her separation from fiancé Alex Rodriguez.

    The couple has been spotted at various locations over the last few weeks.

  • Saudi Arabia to ban unvaccinated individuals from entering malls

    People who have not been vaccinated will not be allowed to enter malls in Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Hussein said on Sunday. The decision will come into effect from August 1, ARY News has reported.

    Hussein added that the dressing rooms have reopened and touchscreens are now allowed to be used in shops, malls and commercial centres while ensuring continuous disinfection and social distancing.

    Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it will allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the kingdom to perform the annual Hajj.

    The Saudi Hajj Ministry said this year’s pilgrimage would be “open for nationals and residents of the kingdom, limited to 60,000 pilgrims,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

  • 60,000 vaccinated residents to be allowed to perform Hajj

    60,000 vaccinated residents to be allowed to perform Hajj

    Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it will allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the kingdom to perform the annual Hajj.

    The Saudi Hajj Ministry said this year’s pilgrimage would be “open for nationals and residents of the kingdom, limited to 60,000 pilgrims,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

    The pilgrimage, scheduled to be held at the end of July, would be limited to those who have been vaccinated and are below 65 years of age with no chronic illnesses.

    It will be the second year in a row that the kingdom will host a reduced number of pilgrims for Hajj amid the coronavirus pandemic.

  • PM Imran expresses grief over killing of Muslim family in Canada in a suspected Islamophobic attack

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his grief over the killing of four members of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario.

    “Saddened to learn of the killing of a Muslim Pakistani-origin Canadian family in London, Ontario,” wrote PM Imran.

    “This condemnable act of terrorism reveals the growing Islamophobia in Western countries. Islamophonia needs to be countered holistically by the international community,” he added.

    Police in London, Ontario, citing witnesses, said that 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman jumped the curb in his vehicle on Sunday, struck five members of the same family ranging in age from 9 to 74, and then drove off at high speed, Reuters has reported.

    Police have not released the victims’ names, but the London Free Press said that among the dead were Syed Afzaal, 46, his wife, Madiha Salman, 44, and their 15-year-old daughter, Yumnah Afzaal. Syed Afzaal’s 74-year-old mother, whose name has not been confirmed, also died. Their 9-year-old son, Faez Afzaal, is in the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

    As per media reports, the family immigrated from Pakistan about 14 years ago.

    “We believe this was an intentional act and that the victims of this horrific incident were targeted,” Police Chief Steve Williams said. “We believe the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith.”

    “I’m horrified by the news from London, Ontario. To the loved ones of those who were terrorised by yesterday’s act of hatred, we are here for you. We are also here for the child who remains in hospital – our hearts go out to you, and you will be in our thoughts as you recover,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter.

    “To the Muslim community in London and to Muslims across the country, know that we stand with you. Islamophobia has no place in any of our communities. This hate is insidious and despicable – and it must stop.”

  • Huda Kattan does not want to endorse unrealistic beauty standards

    Billionaire make-up mogul Huda Kattan has urged people to stop using photoshop and look beyond unrealistic beauty standards by sharing an over-edited version of a picture from the campaign of her newly launched beauty line GloWish to show what the picture would have looked like after editing.

    “We’ve had ENOUGH of the over-editing, photoshop and not showing enough realness!!! So we thought we’d look in the mirror and start with ourselves,” she wrote in the caption of the post.

    “Here is a not so, ‘perfect’ photo from our GloWish campaign shoot and I thought it would be really interesting to show you guys what it would have looked like had we chosen to photoshop and try to sell unrealistic beauty expectations,” she added.

    Huda Kattan has launched a third beauty line entitled GloWish which consists of everyday makeup essentials.

    Earlier, this year in April she said that she has “had enough” of filters and photo editing, as they have warped modern beauty standards into something “unrealistic”.

    In 2018, Pakistani superstar Mahira Khan requested  Zara Shahjahan to not photoshop her pictures from the shoot as she endorses the idea of embracing natural beauty standards.

  • Boris Johnson marries fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony

    Boris Johnson marries fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony on Sunday.

    “The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.

    “The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer.”

    Known for his colorful love life, 56-year-old Johnson wed Symonds, 33, in front of close friends and family, the Mail on Sunday and The Sun newspapers first reported.

    The weekend nuptials were a surprise development, after reports earlier this week said the couple had sent out “save the date” cards for a wedding on July 30 next year.

    The pair got engaged in December, 2019, and have a one-year-old baby son, Wilfred. Their original plans to marry last year were delayed by the pandemic.

    Political colleagues sent congratulations to the couple as the news became official Sunday.

    “I think it’s a wonderful thing for both of them that they have made their marriage vows to one another,” senior minister Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News.

    Around 30 guests attended Saturday’s service — the maximum currently allowed under coronavirus rules — in central London, after being invited at the last minute, according to the Mail on Sunday.

    A small number of church officials were involved and Downing Street aides were not informed, sources told the paper.

    Symonds arrived at the lunchtime nuptials in a limousine and wore “a stunning long and flowing white dress” but chose not to wear a veil, it added.

    There were no descriptions of Johnson’s attire, with the mop-haired British leader infamous for his often dishevelled appearance.

    He had four children with his previous wife, lawyer Marina Wheeler, before they split in 2018. The couple only finalised their divorce last November.

    Johnson also reportedly has a daughter born as the result of an affair.

    When elected in 2019, he became the first prime minister to live at Downing Street as part of an unmarried couple.

    Symonds, a former head of communications for the Conservative Party who has not been married before, gave birth to their son just weeks after Johnson left intensive care as he recovered from a severe case of coronavirus.

    Meanwhile, he is only the second British prime minister to marry while in power, and the first in nearly two centuries. The last was Robert Jenkinson in 1822.